Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $600.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $516.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.60. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total value of $8,502,988.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 186,826 shares in the company, valued at $95,113,116.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total value of $8,502,988.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,113,116.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.